


Shard of the Heart's Looking Glass

by rengekusa (LEAUX)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: M/M, Prideshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-21
Updated: 2012-04-21
Packaged: 2017-11-04 01:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/388080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LEAUX/pseuds/rengekusa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Seto Kaiba learns that ignoring a problem never makes it go away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shard of the Heart's Looking Glass

**Author's Note:**

> I was just messing around with some ideas and this happened. AU for the Ceremonial Duel... not... happening. Just something I wrote for fun/for a friend.

“You are too late, _boy,_ ” the priest spoke harshly – word-crafted daggers, aimed to kill – “he has already fallen.” 

Priest Set, familiar with his opponent’s face, was able to glimpse the fleeting ghost of fear which threatened to destroy the icy facade they both shared.

“You've got some nerve calling _me_ boy, considering you might as well be talking to a mirror” Kaiba spat, groping around in the dim room for his dwindling self-assurance.

“I may resemble the boy you are, but in reality, I am as ancient as this trinket here,” the was priest confident as he reached into his cloak, and Kaiba could already feel his heart sinking in spite of himself – a flash of gold brought crushing doubt.

“The puzzle-”

“A _nostalgic_ souvenir, to be sure. So sorry you missed him.” Brandishing the golden chain like a trophy, Set had an all-too-familiar look of satisfaction on his face as he awaited Kaiba's response. Steeling himself, Kaiba forced a laugh. Soon, the attempt began to brace him, and his fear was gone – the laughter was earnest. He had reminded himself of exactly who they were talking about.

“What do you find so amusing?” the priest was smug, but curious.

“I just think it's hilarious. You expect me to believe you've bested him with only that lousy necklace as evidence. Of course I would laugh. He is far too stubborn to lose to a _waste_ like you.”

The darkness around them intensified as the priest rushed through the space like a wraith, suddenly livid, looming over his mirror-image like the nightmare he had come to personify. Kaiba was suddenly struggling to breathe.

“This _lousy necklace_ is worth more to this world than _anything_ you possess, anything you can _fathom._ ” His breath was an icy gale, and Kaiba could feel the strength being leeched from his bones as he fought to stand his ground against the specter.

“Struck a nerve there, huh? Face it, _priest_ ,” Kaiba sneered in defiance, even as he fell to his knees, “I've never beaten him, and _neither have you_.” 

The lamplight flickered wickedly.

“But you know as well as I do what hurts the most…”

“How dare you speak as if you-”

“… is that no matter how much you want to tear him down to your level, to be his equal…”

“Be silent!” The spirit raged, but Kaiba pressed on.

“… You would rather die than cause him any real harm.”

At last overwhelmed by the wrath of the spirit, Kaiba collapsed completely. Impassively, Set regarded the results of stage one of his little trial. He sighed. 

Looking after the living was such tiresome work.

** <><><> **

Kaiba was a wealthy man. As such, he rarely went “out” for anything. When Mokuba first rushed into his office and asked if he could go see a movie, Kaiba had automatically reached out for the phone, ready to call a driver to escort his brother to the theater. It wasn't until he glanced up that he noticed the stubborn, meaningful look which meant,

“Won't _you_ take me to see a movie, Seto?”

Reflexively, he looked down at his planner, searching for a conflict, half-heatedly wishing he wouldn't find one. When Mokuba started fidgeting, he closed the book with a snap. He didn't need an excuse. He shouldn't hesitate to leave the office once in awhile, especially if Mokuba needed an escort.  
“What should we go see?”

Mokuba beamed.

** <><><> **

They arrived at the nearest megaplex with only Isono in tow.

Dressed somewhat low-profile, they could have almost blended in with the crowd on such a busy Saturday afternoon, but for that black suit and shaded glare. As they queued-up for snacks, Kaiba was just about to lecture his sweet-toothed sibling about ordering too much candy, when he heard a most unwelcome greeting.

“Kaiba?”

“Mokuba, too!”

“What are you guys doin' here, huh?”

Just what he needed. He'd pointedly been avoiding the _usual suspects_ by staying out of local dueling events. So this was his reward for finally leaving the office? He considered it a lesson learned.

“Believe it or not, we're here to see a movie” Kaiba replied with almost no venom – he didn't feel like wasting his breath on the three stooges today.

“What, your home theater not roomy enough or ya, money bags?”

He wasn't bothered, but he could tell the loser was grating on Mokuba's nerves. He could certainly sympathize.

“We've got just as much right to be here as you idiots, shocking as it may be. Now if you'll excuse us.”

Taking Mokuba, snacks in hand, by the shoulder, he brushed past Jounouchi and Honda easily, but of course, Yuugi remained in his way.

“Look, if you've got something to say, it can wait until after the–”

He didn't know how or when it happened, but suddenly, his rival was staring at him with _those_ eyes – the ones that haunted him at night, and in waking dreams of fire. Crimson eyes were appraising him, trying to get a rise out of him – so self-assured; Kaiba could barely suppress the shudder yearning to crawl up his spine. He wanted his rival to say something – anything – but “Yuugi” just stared, said nothing, and as they walked away in silence, Kaiba convinced himself that he did not understand.

**< ><><>**

It was always the same.

Every time it started, Kaiba cursed himself from the bottom of his heart – it made him feel so helpless. It would roll in like a storm and cast all of his plans asunder, reducing his world to chaos. He knew the way he felt about his rival – the _demon_ that lurked in the shadow of Yuugi Mutou – was in no way professional, and that there was little he could do it change it, but still.

Why did it have to be so damned distracting?

He had reached the point where just the thought of him – the smirk, the bravado, the self-righteous grace and poise – all of it set him spinning like a cyclone. Sometimes, he could swear his thoughts were clearer in the actual presence of the King of Games, until they parted ways, and he was left to wade through a fresh torrent of doubt that he was not yet ready to admit stemmed from his own loneliness.

“Since when did I become so pathetic? What do I even call this psychosis?”

The more he tried to put a finger on just what was so out of place about his obsession, the further he drifted from the truth. It was as if the answer didn't exist within him, but rather in another place and time altogether. When it occurred to him that the solution to his problem might in fact lie in the supernatural realm, Kaiba knew he had really gone off the deep-end. The whirling storm of that spirit – that Yuugi from beyond – would be the end of him if he refused to do what was necessary, and for the first time in his life, Kaiba decided he was ready to cut his losses. 

A somber sunset bled through the wide glass windows of his home office, staining the walls crimson, but leaving no warmth. In the hopes that distance and time away from the world of dueling – far away from his tormentor – would put his life back on track, he solemnly packed away his duel disc and cards.

As if he'd ever really been able to afford the distraction.

“I wonder if he even knows how much he ruins my life on a daily basis” Kaiba mused, locking away that familiar silver case, and heading out the door with every intention of closing that chapter of his life for good.

As the months went by, in spite of his best intentions, he wondered if the pain was worth it.

**< ><><>**

“I wonder if he even knows how much he infuriates me on a daily basis” the former pharaoh scoffed, absentmindedly sorting through his cards. Clearly, he was too distracted to even structure his deck properly.

Concerned, Yuugi cleared his throat.

“Wow, see, usually I know better than to butt-in when you're brooding over Kaiba, but I've just gotta interject here...” Yuugi began to say, faltering at the way the pharaoh stiffened, casting a nervous glance across the room – he seemed on edge, or even... embarrassed?

“Brooding? Really, Yuugi, what makes you think I'm brooding? And I'm not sure why you'd think it has anything to with Kaiba–”

“Shh! Just hear me out, okay?” The smaller boy launched in bravely, interrupting the pharaoh's inevitable backpedaling, “Just give me one good reason why you can't go out and talk to Kaiba about whatever his problem is. You know... face to face.”

Atem stared at his host as if he'd gone insane.

“ _Talk_ to Kaiba? Why?”

“Instead of being shut-in here, muttering to yourself about how much you miss seeing him around, I just think it _might_ be more productive to bring the fight to him. Just this once.” Yuugi braced himself – there were a few parts of that statement which were bound to rub Atem the wrong way.

“Yuugi, why would I...”

“You _do_ miss him, do _not_ lie about it. You sit there endlessly strategizing all day long, and let’s face it, you've only ever had one opponent here.”

Atem was about to protest, but then he realized what Yuugi meant – one opponent who brings out his best game, who makes him want to improve more than just win. Mollified, the pharaoh seemed content to skip straight back to brooding.

“It's been months without so much as a noise from him, Yuugi. _Months_. I can't help but feel there's something wrong.”

Feeling sympathetic for the genuine concern on Atem's face as he worried over Kaiba, Yuugi tried to switch tactics.

“I'm sure he's just really busy, y'know?” he smiled reassuringly.

“Kaiba is _always_ busy.”

“You know what I meant. He's just too busy for...”

When both of them realized that the next word in that sentence would be “dueling”, they understood exactly how wrong it sounded.

“Go grab our coat” said Yuugi, not missing a beat, “Let's try to make it down to Kaiba Corp. before evening traffic.”

**< ><><>**

“Kaiba!”

The pharaoh hollered as loudly as he could, but nothing seemed to come of it, not even so much as an echo. He couldn't even identify where he was. In terms of the size and layout of the space, it seemed somewhat similar to that of Kaiba’s mansion, but the construction was not only windowless, but old – _ancient_ – and the pharaoh began to feel less than subtle stirrings of nostalgia as he traversed the stone halls. It had the feel of an ethereal realm, but it was clearly neither the space within the puzzle, nor the world beyond. Perhaps it was something in-between?

What was even more disturbing than the hybrid nature of the locale was the lack of that familiar, reassuring weight around his neck. Still, he kept calm, and focused on moving forward. He could remember sitting in a room talking with Kaiba before arriving in this dark world. Perhaps locating him would lead to a clue as to how to escape, or at least what had become of the puzzle.

“Think, dammit! What were we both discussing just before this happened...?”

He knew they’d been arguing. Really, given their track record, it wasn’t much to go on.

**< ><><>**

Yuugi seemed content to leave the other in control for the entirety of the trip to Kaiba Corp. As he raced up the steps, Atem felt as if he was running on pure adrenaline – as if stopping to think about his actions for even a moment would destroy his resolve. In the back of his mind, he knew this would likely be his final chance to appeal to Kaiba – to make some sense out of how they related to each other, to make sense of what was going through Kaiba's head. The months that had passed between their last meeting only made him more anxious.

Awash in bleak thoughts as he navigated the tower, he didn't fully realize where he was until he was face to face with – 

“Kaiba.”

“Yuugi.”

They stood at the door of Kaiba's office, staring each other down. In a less-than-inviting gesture, Kaiba was completely blocking the door frame.

“State your business.”

“Listen, I honestly don't even know where to begin, but I assure you that–”

“Spare me the eloquent little speech, Yuugi – what do you _want_?”

Contemplating what he _really_ wanted, Atem let out a self-conscious chuckle, and Kaiba bristled instantly.

“Kaiba,” he said carefully, tempering the smile on his face – the desire in his voice, “we should talk.”

Inside his office, the broad windows offered a fantastic view of the city, and thus, a tempting distraction from the extraordinary tension now pouring off of Kaiba in waves.

“I hope you have a good reason for coming here today.”

“So do I.”

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. 

“Do not mock me, I _really_ don't have time to waste on your nonsense.”

“I couldn't be less surprised,” he responded wryly, the second chuckle getting Kaiba riled again. “Forgive me, I have a hard time remembering I'm always treading on eggshells with you. Such a large ego, it never ceases to amaze me how fragile it can be.”

“Insult me in my own office one more time, I dare you. You know where the door is.”

“Calm down, I meant no offense.”

“I'm sure.”

“But it _has_ been a long time since we last spoke Kaiba, and I have to wonder...” he trailed off, looking towards anything in the vast room that might somehow make this conversation easier. He sighed. 

Stalling would only make it worse.

“Kaiba, it's been nearly a year since our last duel. I have to know – Why haven't you challenged me?”

The pause was awkward and impossible to ignore.

“Are you that eager to lose your title, Yuugi?”

“Kaiba,” he shook his head, fortifying his frail patience, “dueling you under the pretense of defending my title is little more than a formality. Loathe as you may be to believe it, I am not now, nor have I ever been invested in being the King of Games.”

Kaiba looked as if he had just heard a particularly bad joke.

“Then what the hell are you here for?”

“I'm invested in _you_.”

“ _What?”_

“I know you, Kaiba, and it isn't like you to just casually toss your ambitions aside, so what happened? What went so wrong that you suddenly lost interest in achieving your goal of being named the world's greatest duelist?”

With little warning, Kaiba dropped all pretense and lashed out, letting his rage poison every word.

“Yuugi, do humanity a favor and stop taking it upon yourself to straighten out other people's minds. The psychologist act is tired, and I'll be damned if I haven't had enough of it already.”

“I'm sorry, _psychologist act_? I think we both know it goes a bit deeper than that.”

“And I'm telling you, you can't just go around tearing apart people's _souls_ when you don't agree with how they behave!”

“You act as if this is a feat I perform for just anyone. Kaiba, I can assure you, most people who have seen that side of me... they never return.”

“I'm _touched_.”

“I'm _serious_.”

“Then why me?”

“What?” He was genuinely taken aback, struggling to maintain eye contact even as the beginnings of panic flooded his mind.

“What made you decide to spare me? Why was I your special _project_ , Yuugi?”

Truthfully, he used to ask himself the same question, often, afraid that his motivation had been selfish, or worse yet, sadistic. In the end, he could never quite decide what made him do it, but suddenly, he found himself on the spot.

“I... I thought that, deep down, you might be a formidable opponent. I wanted a challenge, and it was in my best interest to...”

“Cut the bullshit, Yuugi. Stop stalling and answer me honestly.”

“Kaiba...”

“I don't have time for this.” He looked frayed, rubbing at his temples, fighting harder to regain his composure than Atem had ever seen.

“Listen, the bottom line is that playtime is over, Yuugi. I have other duties to perform now, I have to move on. Go find someone else to obsess over.”

The declaration seemed to fall on deaf ears. Either that, or the pharaoh had willfully dismissed it.

“How disappointing”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Do you want to know what the best part of being King of Games was?”

Kaiba eyed his rival suspiciously.

“Is now really the time to gloat?”

“It was knowing that you would always be just around the corner, waiting for your chance to try and take me down a peg. It was like clockwork.” He smiled. “It was endearing, really.”

“Oh come _on._ You're not telling me you became the King of Games because you needed the attention?” He laughed bitterly, rising from his seat to stare out of the window, to focus his anger somewhere else, if even for a second.

“I need someone to fight – someone worthy of being my opponent.”

“And I'm telling you to find yourself a new punching bag!” He snarled, keeping his grimace between himself and the thick glass.

“How dare you!” It was Atem's turn to look indignant. “I won't stand by silently while you disparage yourself in such terms. Listen to me, Kaiba.”

Kaiba turned, and was about to retort, when the pharaoh suddenly leapt from his chair, shoulders square, every inch of him conveying a challenge.

“Yuugi may be the boy chosen by the puzzle, but _you_ are the one chosen by _me_.” 

The declaration hung heavy in the air - a sentence with real gravity.

The look in the pharaoh’s eyes as he spoke was possessive, intensely so. Kaiba felt himself bristle at what that look implied – after all, he belonged to no one. Clearly, he had let the charade of their rivalry drag on long enough. He had to take a stand, before he admitted to himself just how good it felt to be looked at with something that now resembled longing, rather than mere contempt.

“Just what exactly do you mean by that, Yuugi?” There was a flash of real fear in Kaiba’s eyes – however invisible to the untrained observer, it did not go unnoticed. Sensing this uncertainty, the pharaoh now worried that he had overstepped his bounds. Rather, he was certain that he had. 

It was his loss, then.

“It means,” he sighed, collecting himself. “It means, Kaiba, that you always will be more to me than just a rival.”

Without hesitation, he turned to leave Kaiba’s office. They both recognized it for what it was – a gesture of defeat – and it dawned on them simultaneously that this would more or less have to serve as their goodbyes. Atem only turned around slightly as he gave a weak wave from over his shoulder.

“See you in another life, then.”

The sunlight caught the edge of the puzzle, and Kaiba froze. Those words, the sight of him leaving, all of it reached into him and gripped his heart like a vice, crushing him from the inside. He tried to speak, yell, say anything, but he found that he could not so much as breathe. Reaching out to steady himself, he instead collapsed onto the floor, utterly paralyzed.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Atem whirled around to see Kaiba lying stricken on the ground, face contorted in pain and confusion as he seemed to choke on the air itself.

“Kaiba! Are you alright?”

Atem rushed over to see if he could help in some way, but Kaiba perceived it all as if it were happening in slow motion. He could see that the other was speaking to him, but the words he heard instead were disembodied. Were they coming from the puzzle… or…?

“ _At last, we will solve this once and for all_.”

Eyes full of concern, Atem leaned over to check Kaiba’s pulse, and the puzzle came to rest against Kaiba’s chest.

There was a blinding flash of light, which promptly dissolved into darkness, as faint laughter echoed in the distance.

“ _Finally_.”

**< ><><>**

The pharaoh pressed on, with only his aching feet to give him some idea of how long he'd spent traversing the endless dark corridors of the tomb that was now Kaiba’s mansion. Without his puzzle, he felt strangely naked, and was understandably anxious to find some clue as to how Kaiba figured in with this whole mystery. In an occult realm like this, the infuriatingly pragmatic duelist was likely out of his depth again and, for reasons he neglected to analyze, Atem felt it was his duty to rescue Kaiba from his own inability to process the supernatural.

“Kaiba! Say something if you can hear me! Now is hardly the time to be stubborn!”

As if on cue, he could hear hushed voices echoing faintly off the walls ahead, and he hurried towards them. Just as he began to feel hope rising in his heart, a familiar presence struck him from afar – tall, stern, arrogant, yet dutiful, deadly, yet capable of great kindness.

The lamplight flickered.

“No, it isn't possible... could he...?”

Atem wasn't thinking clearly anymore, the dread that now clawed at his insides was too great. All his fears were centered on one face – a face of stone, and deeply buried passions – a shared face.

Why would he return? Why now? What could his motivation possibly be? If Kaiba was in danger of being possessed, Atem wasn't going to wait around to find out. It was now or never – he had to protect Kaiba from being eclipsed by a ghost from the past, or risk losing him to the afterlife forever. And that thought, just the thought alone...

Rounding the corner, the scene he met with rocked him like a physical blow.

Atem didn’t know he could feel so strongly about anything  anymore. It was as if he’d never known his worst fear until it was laid out before his very eyes.

Too late.

He was too late.

In the center of a grand ante-chamber, white coat fanned out as the lining pooled around him like blood in snow, Kaiba lay still. Face-up, shoulders square, expression resolute, he looked eerily like he’d been arranged in such a way. To the left of where his hand rested limp against the stone floor gleamed the puzzle, taunting Atem from the half-dark of the room, as if he needed further bait to draw him from the threshold.

Steady now.

“Kaiba? Can you hear me? What happened?”

Slowly, he approached the form of his rival, dreading with every step that he might suddenly sit bolt upright, and begin speaking with a voice not heard for millennia.

“Where are we? What  _is_ this place? Sorry to admit it, but I’m really out of ideas, Kaiba, I–”

His breath caught in his chest as he registered the absence of Kaiba’s own.

He collapsed to his knees.

Time began to flow slowly, thick and viscous, as he reached down for Kaiba’s shoulders, shaking them as violently as he dared. Every fiber of his being refused to reconcile this still form with what he knew to be his rival. Where was that stubborn will which bowed to nothing? Where was the hubris that laughed in the faces of both death and destiny alike?

“Kaiba, you aren’t like this, you don’t just quit like this! You are Seto Kaiba!” he shouted wildly, as if his bravado would merit some recognition.

But there was nothing – no breath, no sound.

Nothing.

The pharaoh had come to learn a lot about himself over the time he’d spent living his new life in this modern era. He’d learned how compassion could make him a stronger person, about how to embrace his emotions, rather than suppress them.

Still, tears were always what he least expected.

Half-heartedly, he reached for the puzzle, but at the last second, clasped the outstretched hand beside it instead.

Cold.

“Kaiba, your hands, I–”

Atem choked. He didn’t understand why, how, or where, but here he was, kneeling beside the body of his greatest rival, lost in a haze of grief and tears, feeling as if the worth of his own life, of all existence, was suddenly forfeit.

He had lost Kaiba.

He had failed.

“Kaiba, please, I can’t… The truth is, without you, I don’t know what to do with… I…”

He took a deep breath.

“The reason I came to see you today is…”

Suddenly, the memory of what they’d been arguing about came rushing back.

Their goodbyes.

Unable to restrain himself, he gently lowered his head to rest against Kaiba’s chest. There was barely a hint of warmth left in his body at all, and were he not already overwhelmed, Atem might have wretched at the thought.

Time came up to speed, lost to grief, until he was at last shaken from his reverie by the voice he’d been dreading most.

“My pharaoh.”

Out of stubbornness, Atem initially refused to lift his head – he would not respond. Ready as he was to fight the intruder tooth and nail to defend Kaiba from possession, the masochist in him wanted to linger there with the body for as long as he could.

“And so again we must learn this lesson, isn’t that so, Pharaoh? All good things must come to an end.”

End? No. How could things end like this when they hadn’t even begun?

“Who are you to dictate when things end?” Atem’s voice was muffled until he lifted his head, a torrent of righteous anger streaming from his eyes. “It isn’t time; it is  _not_ his time.”

Abruptly, the pharaoh stood and began stalking toward the ghastly visage of his former priest.

“I could ask what you’re doing here, I could ask where we are, but all I want to know is why,  _why_ you would do something like this. It doesn’t matter, though, because no reason could ever be good enough, so spare me your waste of an excuse.”

Buzzing with the threat of violence, Atem stood before the once -great Set, fists white-knuckled and wild at his sides.

The priest gave his former king a frank, appraising look.

And then he _smiled_.

“So… You  _are_ in love with him.”

At first, Atem wasn’t sure he’d heard him right. Surely hadn’t just stated that… but then there was that taunting glare. The pharaoh knew his priest too well, and apparently the opposite was also true. Somehow, Set could read the truth of the pharaoh’s heart aloud, even as Atem was still unprepared to hear it.

“That’s irrelevant!”

“On the contrary, Pharaoh, it is the only thing that matters.”

Stopping in his tracks, Atem took a small, self-conscious glance back at Kaiba, emotion threatening to ruin his resolve.

“How do you mean?” he asked quietly, uncertain whether he even meant to speak at all. He cursed himself for looking weak, for his hesitation, but he could no longer think beyond the grief that now seized him.

“All you see here was made possible by the puzzle – by you, Pharaoh.”

“Liar! This wasn’t me. I did not create this nightmare!”

“Ever since the day you shattered Kaiba’s heart and mind with the power of your Millennium Item, that energy forced him to reconstruct himself, and discover anew what sort of man he wanted to become. Part of Kaiba has always hated you for this, and he wanted revenge – for you to taste the bitter defeat he’d known for the first time at your hands.”

Atem could remember their first duel – how, even without any memories of the past, of who Kaiba’s soul had once belonged to, Atem had felt there was part of him worth saving.

“Still, there is a subconscious part of Kaiba that does not hate you at all. That part of him holds you in the highest esteem, both as a duelist and as a man. In his entire life, he has never felt for another person the way he feels for you. But this aspect of Kaiba has never truly risen to the surface, as he has yet to reclaim that part of himself – the final fragment of his heart.”

Starring into the ethereal eyes of the long-dead priest, Atem was suddenly struck with the answer.

“It’s… you, isn’t it?”

The priest did not respond.

“You aren’t really Set at all, are you? You’re really just a part of Kaiba – a part he denies and keeps hidden away.”

Suddenly, the image of Set became solid. Although he was no longer spectral, he was clearly still a presence that did not belong. Again, he smiled.

“Correct. I am the part of Seto Kaiba's heart that wishes to remain at your side. But like him, deep down, I fear I am unworthy of that privilege.”

Absorbing this information as best he could, the pharaoh walked back to where Kaiba still lay, kneeling beside him.

“Why should he feel unworthy?” His fingers twitched, longing to reach out to Kaiba, but strangeled by guilt.  “Why should he tear himself apart inside like this on account of me?”

The form of Set stood before them.

“Having been judged by you, torn asunder by you, and defeated by you many times, he fears you don’t view him as a worthy opponent. On another level, he feels undeserving of love altogether. He was driven to lead a heartless life in his youth, hurting many for his own gain. Thus, he feels he could never–”

“Stop!”

Shaking with anger once more, the pharaoh looked upon Kaiba’s lifeless face as he spoke.

“I should be the one who is unworthy... when my very presence never ceases to endanger everyone and everything I care for.” 

With utter loathing, he looked upon the puzzle, suddenly wishing he could crush it with his bare hands.

“ If it weren't for me, Kaiba never would have had to suffer this! If it weren't for my revival, he would–”

“Never have existed.”

Atem stared, confusion beginning to overpower his pain.

“What are you talking about?”

“My pharaoh, your actions in the past saved humanity itself. He never would have come to inherit my soul, let alone be born at all, if those dark forces had been allowed to claim the world under your reign. Your presence in this time, the conclusion of the events that took place all those millennia ago – none of this is a coincidence. The presence of my soul near the one who would inherit the puzzle is no accident either.”

Silently, Atem began to review this information.

“If I understand what is happening here, then… tell me, is this the result of failure? Did he fall because he failed to reconcile with his whole heart?”

“Yes” was the answer, without hesitation. 

“So that means…”

Atem looked up at the phantom.

“You! I’m still speaking with you! And you represent the last piece, the one he couldn’t manage on his own, which means…”

The form of Priest Set knelt down across from the pharaoh on the other side of Kaiba’s body. Without shame, he stared longingly at Atem, eyes lingering on his lips.

“You have sacrificed so much for the sake of us all, my king. Not a soul would think it selfish of you if you were to take your own desires into account, just this once.”

So, it seemed Kaiba needed his help after all. Atem would only be too happy to oblige.

“Hear me Seto Kaiba – deep inside your heart, I’ve always known there was a good man waiting to be set free. Now I understand that, more than just wanting to see you succeed, I also wanted…”

He leaned forward slightly, and Set met him in the middle.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds before the apparition vanished, but Atem felt the catharsis of millennia of longing and regret being lifted from his shoulders as the vision faded, lingering on his tongue.

“Yuugi.”

Heart threatening to leap through the ceiling, the pharaoh looked down into blue eyes.

He was awake.

He was _alive._

“Kaiba!”

It sounded angry more than anything, as if he hadn't yet regained control of his own voice. Kaiba blinked slowly, eyes trying to adjust to the small amount of light in the room. As his expression leapt from confusion to concern, he slowly sat up, wincing. 

“My god, how long have I been laying here?” he griped, as if Atem were the one responsible for his current state. Of all the ungrateful... Kaiba's face had never looked so utterly slappable.

“How should I know? You're lucky I even found you in this huge place. It _is_ a mansion…”

Kaiba thought the defensive tone of voice was rather odd until he noticed how damp his shirt felt.

And how red Yuugi's eyes looked.

And for a moment he was at a loss for words, but the silence really said it all.

“Were you really...?”

Atem could have willingly buried himself six feet under ground just to hide how red he was turning. Out of everything that had happened to him in his short waking years, this, surely _this_ had to be the most humiliating. Frantically, he began working up a retort when out of the blue came a warm chuckle. 

He looked to Kaiba and saw... a smile!? 

As entertaining as it was watching his rival's shocked expression, Kaiba reigned in his amusement, and regarded him more seriously for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

He took Yuugi's hand, and time seemed to bend again, and go still. He cleared his throat.

“When he goes about his day-to-day life, Yuugi might think you’re invisible to the outside world, but he's wrong.” As he spoke he looked thoughtful, if not a bit jaded, and his words had a hypnotic effect.

“I can always feel you there, in his shadow. But you're unreachable, and it...”

A sharp, aching glare.

“It drives me insane.” 

The pharaoh froze – afraid to breathe, afraid to hear what came next.

“Kaiba, I–”

“I suppose now is as good a time as any to finally ask you – what would you prefer I call you?”

A deep breath later– 

“Call me Atem.”

“Atem” Kaiba tested out the name – tasting it, a slightly new flavor. He shook his head, unable to fully rid himself of the smirk on his face. There was a new flame burning inside of him now – as if, for the first time in years, he was whole again.

“You don't have to look so skeptical, I obviously believe in you to the extent that I will even call you by your own name and everything.”

It was Atem's turn to look smug.

“Well _that_ didn't take much, did it?”

Kaiba grinned at the challenge.

“Hardly my fault. Any _sane_ person would have a terrible time coming to terms with this situation.” Gently, Kaiba laid his hands on Atem's shoulders. 

“Good thing you've finally gone insane, then” the pharaoh laughed, softly.

Kaiba looked thoughtful as he leaned in close.

“Hm. I probably have.”

In one fluid motion, Atem straddled Kaiba. In defiance of the frigid room he was full of fire, the embarrassment of his tears far behind him, even as their salty tang lingered on the air.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this,” Kaiba growled, earning him a withering crimson stare. 

“Try a few thousand years.”

“Oh forgive me, your _majesty_ , I had no idea we were on a schedule, here.”

“A simple enough mistake. Easily rectified.” The wicked look of mischief was unbecoming of his regal face.

“I'm sure.”

In the spirit of expedience, Atem descended on Kaiba, pushing him back down onto the stone, and felt his breath hitch as Kaiba rolled the white coat off his shoulders, exposing his pale neck, inch by inch. Taking the invitation, he pressed himself against the taller man, chest to chest, reaching out his right hand to where Kaiba's fingers were entwined with the chain of the puzzle. Slowly, his lips made their way up from Kaiba's neck, to his chin, to the shell of his ear, testing his patience, pausing to whisper,

“I still expect a rematch”

In a flash, Kaiba surged up from beneath him, tipping Atem's chin with his free hand, covering his lips with his own. Responding with ardor, Atem had only a moment to marvel at the electricity passing between them before everything in sight began to swim, and their reality soundlessly melted away.

**< ><><>**

If waking up on the floor of Kaiba's office was a shock, waking up on top of _Kaiba_ was a bigger one. Upon realizing where he was lying, Atem quickly made as if to stand, but Kaiba pulled the smaller man right back down on top of him. Frozen in surprise, Atem was slowly soothed by the continuing rise and fall of Kaiba's chest beneath him. As the shock of Kaiba's strangely affectionate demeanor wore away, the memories of all that had just transpired came creeping back.

“For a moment there, I really believed you were...”

Kaiba's hands came to rest on the small of Atem's back, reassuring even in their inherent awkwardness.

“You can't believe everything you see... in a crazy dream caused by a Millennium Item.” Kaiba replied, the sarcasm oddly comforting to Atem, if not just for familiarity’s sake. There was such tenderness in his manner; the pharaoh could hardly reconcile it with even his wildest imaginations of Kaiba in his private life. He grinned devilishly.

“It's just that, in spite of everything that happened, I never dreamed you could be quite this sentimental, Kaiba” the pharaoh quipped.

He could feel the air grow tense, as if the statement had been a challenge.

“What were you expecting me to do? Toss you out in the street? Thanks?” 

“Now, now, don’t get defensive. Frankly, this side of you is…”

The pharaoh regarded the serenity in the expression of his rival.

“It is a welcome sight”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Atem, I'm just resting my eyes.”

His name, spoken so casually, felt like the greatest victory he could ever achieve. 

“Of course you were, Kaiba, how foolish of me to presume. Certainly you wouldn't mind if I followed suit?”

Kaiba gripped him just a bit tighter.

“Do whatever you want, just be quiet for awhile.”

Closing his eyes, Atem smiled. He couldn't help but swell with pride for the man beneath him – the man who could reassemble himself by looking deep into the shards of a broken heart. 

 

完 

 

 

 


End file.
